Social networks and the law of the few

Sanjeev Goyal of the University of Cambridge talks to Romesh Vaitilingam about his research on social networks. He describes the significance and potential downside of the ‘law of the few’, whereby social groups typically rely on information from a very small number of ‘opinion leaders’ to inform their economic decision-making. The interview was recorded at the annual congress of the European Economic Association in Glasgow in August 2010. [Also read the transcript]